Students and faculty walk out of Vice President Mike Pence's commencement address at Christian university
tulc(thinks this was interesting)As Vice President Mike Pence gave the Saturday morning commencement address at Taylor University — a Christian school in Pence's home state of Indiana — dozens of graduating seniors and faculty walked out in protest.
The small demonstration came after Taylor students and members of the surrounding Upland, Indiana, community started an online petition to bar Pence from giving the address, citing concerns that it could be construed as an endorsement of President Donald Trump’s policies. Many of those who remained at the ceremony but objected to Pence’s presence sported buttons that declared, “I am Taylor Too,” which intended to show that the university houses a multitude of viewpoints in contrast to those held by the administration.
Close to 10,000 people signed the Change.org petition, although only a fraction of the roughly 500 graduating students actually ended up walking out of the speech. Still, the demonstration marked a rare instance in which a member of the Trump administration was rebuffed in what many considered to be friendly territory.